May 04, 1998 10:00 AM CDT

11th International Brick/Block Masonry Conference

By J. Gregg Borchelt, P. E.

For the second time in its thirty year history, the International Brick/Block Masonry Conference was held outside of North America or Europe. This time the venue was Tongji University in Shanghai, China. Approximately 120 attendees from 21 countries listened to the presentations, discussed current interests and activities, enjoyed the hospitality of their Chinese hosts, and had an opportunity to see Shanghai and China. The United States was represented by five attendees.

The conference was organized by the Chinese Association for Engineering Construction Standardization and Tongji University. Professor Yiliang Qian of the Shanghai Institute of Building Materials served as organizing chairman. He should be contacted for information on the availability of the two-volume Proceedings and supplement. Professor Qian may be reached by fax at 86-21-6501-5345.

The plenary session featured the following presentations:

• The Development of Masonry Worldwide by H. W. H. West


• The State-of-the-Art of Masonry Structures in China by Ruifeng Wu


• Progress in Research and Application of Earthquake Resistance and Seismic Isolation for Masonry Buildings in China by Lu Xilin and Xiao Xiaosong

150 papers were published under fifteen topics with the following headings and number of papers under each topic:

1. Properties of Masonry Units and Mortars: 8 papers


2. Properties of Unreinforced Masonry: 13 papers


3. Properties of Reinforced and Prestressed Masonry: 16 papers


4. Test Methods for Masonry and Its Components: 6 papers


5. Design of Conventional Masonry Walls: 10 papers


6. Design of Special Structural Forms: 11 papers


7. Seismic Behavior of Masonry: 19 papers


8. Deformation and Durability of Masonry and Its Components: 14 papers


9. Energy Conservation, Sound and Moisture Insulation: 6 papers


10. Discussion of Relevant Themes in Standards: 12 papers


11. Standards Introduction and Manufacturing: 6 papers


12. Research on Masonry Conservation and Restoration: 11 papers


13. Theoretical Consideration and Examples of Conservation and Research: 6 papers


14. Masonry Design and Construction Economics: 6 papers


15. Numerical and Constitutive Modeling: 6 papers

Authors represented 21 countries, with the largest number from China. Significant contributions came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Australia, and the Netherlands. The United States was represented by three papers.

Following the presentation of papers, the attendees had the choice of two tours. One included a visit to an eighteen story reinforced masonry loadbearing building. Research on and design of that project generated several of the Chinese authored papers.

The three day conference concluded with a banquet on the evening of October 16, 1997.

The steering committee for the International Brick/Block Masonry Conference met in Shanghai. They made two significant decisions. First, the composition of the steering committee will be changed. Rather than having the chairmen of previous conferences as the committee, each country will be asked to select an organization from its masonry industry and name an individual to represent that country on the committee. The Council for Masonry Research has accepted that appointment for the United States. Second, the site for the 12th IBBMAC was chosen. It will be held in Madrid, Spain, in July of the year 2000. The chairman is Dr. Josep Adell Argiles of the Department of Construction and Architectural Technology at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. His e-mail address is jadell@ag.upm.es.

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About the Author

J. Gregg Borchelt, P.E. is the President and Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Engineering and Research for the Brick Industry Association (BIA). He was in charge of technical information for BIA; Gregg also chairs ASTM Subcommittee C 15.02 on Brick and Clay Tile.